GOD IS IN THE DETAILS

I've missed being able to post to this blog in recent days. Just a lot going on in my life right now. My mother is having tests tomorrow for some problems she has been having and facing possible surgery next week. So everything else has had to take a back seat as we have made doctor's appointments and tried to prepare for all this. I covet your prayers for her if the Lord brings her to your mind (even if you don't know her...God does!)

I am once again reminded how precious "normal" days are. I know...you probably think "here she goes again", but seriously....you really do not appreciate NORMAL until your normal is toppled.

My friend, Cyndi and her husband, Jim are in Houston, TX this week as Jim undergoes treatment for a malignancy on his spine, a metastasis from lung cancer. They know all about normal being interrupted. Cyndi, a writer herself, likens life being interrupted by cancer this way:

Living with cancer is like living with an uninvited giant in your home. After you recover from the initial shock of his arrival and realize he has decided to stay a while, you must decide how you will adjust to his presence. Do you get to know him better so that you are prepared for his next attack? Do you make a battle plan hoping to slay the nasty interloper? Do you ignore him and hope he will disappear as mysteriously as he appeared?
After a while you become accustomed to his presence but you never, ever forget he is there. You tiptoe around him because you know that any minute he might awaken, threatening and irascible or docile and sluggish. You never know if he will devour you in one large bite or be satisfied with a little snack to hold him over while he returns to hibernation. Sometimes he is so quiet you think he might be dead, but then he stirs, rears his ugly head, and comes back more ferocious than he was at first appearance.

A young family whose child was in our church's preschool recently learned their four year old daughter had leukemia. Believe me........their life is ANYTHING but normal these days, with regular trips to St .Jude, spinal taps, procedures, hair loss, taking temperatures around the clock, watching every bite she eats, and guarding her from sources of infection we don't even think about!

Yet in all of these...God is in the details. He meets our EVERY need, whether we are having a precious NORMAL day or a giant of an ABNORMAL day.

Cyndi emailed me something this morning that made me think of a verse of scripture. I emailed her back, including that verse. She emailed back that she had spent all morning trying to find that very verse to include in something she was writing!! Coincidence? NO WAY!!! You might believe that, but my dear Friend, I KNOW better!!!!!!!!!! God is in the details!

I cannot tell you how many times I've been in the pit over something and crying out to God when suddenly my phone will ring or I will get an email from someone who knows just what I need to hear to encourage me. They won't know my problem...won't have a clue I'm even having a bad day. But GOD KNOWS! He is in the details!

I read somewhere the other day ( I wish I could remember where and give whoever credit) that God speaks to us in a myriad of ways throughout the day in the little things. But, if we refuse to pay attention,then sometimes he has to SHOUT to us through difficult circumstances to get our attention. I want to be attentive to those LITTLE things so that He does not have to shout at me, don't you?

So look around you right now. What has been put in your path today to point you to Him? Was it an email you received earlier today? A phone call? A beautiful flower that you failed to pay close attention to? The voice of your child or grandchild, calling out to you? Stop! Pay attention to the little things. Listen for the voice of God. Open your eyes to the things around you. Realize that God is in the details!! He is sending His love to you in a number of different ways through a wide assortment of avenues. Be alert! Be looking! Don't miss the blessings that are right in front of your eyes! If you feel prompted to make a phone call or send an email or stop by and say hello to a neighbor, DO IT! You will never know how much they may need it! I wish I had a dollar for every time I've sent someone an email...usually a copy of a devotional that someone sent me...but I felt that person just needed it for some reason...and had them reply "That was just what I needed!!! How did you know?!" Answer? I didn't...but God did!

GOD IS IN THE DETAILS OF YOUR LIFE AND MINE!!! WATCH FOR HIM!!